Blurring the Lines
by Inuko
Summary: A few good friends and a horrible storm, and suddenly, they're in another world. What the heck? They're not in just any world, they've entered a game? They'll have to unravel mysteries and go through perilous adventures to get back to their REAL home.
1. The Storm

I have returned with a new story! I know it's probably not anything special, but I find myself highly amused with it. I think it's going to be a world hopping type of fic, but I'm not sure at the moment. It may stay Ragnarok Online for a long time, or it just might stay like that forever. Depending on what happens, I'll be sure to change the categories and stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little ficcie about me and my friends, both online and off 3

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**Chapter 1: The Storm**

It was a rainy day, the sky sheltered by ominous grey clouds. The rain poured, the droplets' pitter patter against the metal echoing through out the concrete and metal school. It was another rainy fall day, much to the demise of the student body, especially since there wasn't enough room for everyone to eat lunch in the shelter of the cafeteria. A tall boy with dirty blonde hair stared dismally at the pounding rain from beneath their hallway shelter.

"Ungghh..." groaned Tim, watching every drop of water, "It's raining too hard AND I have to walk home today! Ungggh!!"

An inquisitive looking girl let out a giggle as she heard him emit the strange sound, "Geez, Tim! You sound like a dying giraffe!"

A small girl with dark brown hair sat next to him, also staring lethargically out at the pouring rain. "It's making me...sleepy," mumbled Stephanie.

Tracy, with her short black hair, grinned, "Heh. Maybe there's a murderer about!"

Just then, a streak of lightening flashed across the sky, making the group jump a foot in the air. The brilliant light was frightening, but the powerful boom that echoed afterwards was just downright terrifying. Stephanie hid her head in the chest of the lanky Bao, whimpering slightly.

"Aww," Caroline said sympathetically, brushing some strands of her ebony hair back into place. "Poor Steph..."

"Poor Steph? This stuff is COOL!" Robert exclaimed enthusiastically, much to the surprise of the little group. He jumped about happily, genuinely excited at the thought of buildings being fried and girls being soaked all the way through.

"What!?" Tracy and Caroline yelled, shocked that he could say such a thing. An opinion is an opinion, but little Stephanie was truly frightened.

Just as Tracy and Caroline inched closer to Robert, ready to rip open his throat, something strange happened. The world flickered.

"What the—"Jon started, eyes wide as their world changed in a split second. "What's going on!?"

The dismal grey of the high school flashed away again, being replaced with a lush green meadow for just a moment, and just as quickly, it was dismal, grey, and wet again. They looked at each other, thoroughly puzzled, unaware that they had just glimpsed into another world. Another flash, another moment, but this time clearer, longer, more detailed. Green grass, blue sky, stone castle. Then, Stephanie had an inkling of what that image was.

"...Pron...tera?" she whispered quietly, stepping out into the pouring rain

Bao and Tim stared oddly at each other, then at the rain soaked girl, and back again. They knew what "Prontera" was, but they just couldn't fathom that it was true. Was this a glimpse into Rune-Midgard, or was Stephanie simply going insane? Whatever the truth, the pair followed the girl into the rain.

While the lanky Bao and the curious Tim followed the small girl, the rest were left unenlightened. They had not the slightest clue of the significance of "Prontera", except for Robert, who swiftly decided that Stephanie was just going insane. This, of course, led to a slap and a kick from Caroline and Tracy.

"So, what is this Prontera?" asked Roger, practically popping out from nowhere. Unlike everyone else, he was rather dry, with his gigantic umbrella.

"Oh, it's a city in RO!" Explained Robert succinctly, not exactly enlightening his audience. Another kick, another slap, and he began again. "Prontera is the capital city in the game they play, the one I used to play, called Ragnarok Online. I quit after awhile, though..."

"Probably because he sucked," Tracy whispered to Caroline, making the other girl laugh.

"I heard that!" Just as Robert was going to leap for Tracy's throat, a flash of lightening streaked across the sky.

The world flickered again, but this time, it didn't go back.

"...Uh, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Jon stated simply, staring at the majestic castle before them.


	2. New Game

I messed up . Here's Chapter 2 without all the extra crap.

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Chapter 2: New Game

Stephanie stared down at her own hands. They were different somehow. In length, in texture; they were elegant and gentle somehow. They weren't her hands at all! The clothes that she was wearing, the hair on her head, none of it was hers and yet it was! It was impossible, but then again, flickering worlds wasn't exactly on the plausible list either.

"I…I can't believe it!" Stephanie exclaimed quietly, her voice trembling as she stared up at the city gate. "I can't believe…we're really here!"

Clueless as ever, Bao merely blinked and looked at his love, "Really where?"

Stephanie turned to Bao, giving the group a full view of her new appearance. Her hair was a vivid green, lush as a forest; two sections were tied off in low ponytails in the front, hanging right over her chest, and the rest cascaded down her back. Her eyes were a dark shade of sapphire, but even more interesting was the dress she now wore. It was a dim violet one piece, with a full skirt. Down the left side was a sexy slit that revealed the silky skin of her legs that were covered in a stocking-like material. The shoulders were poofy and large, but not annoyingly so, and the long sleeves flared out into thick, red and gold cuffs. Around her neck hung a cross; Stephanie was now a woman of the church.

"I'm…a priestess," She started, gritting her teeth slightly, looking down at the dew covered grass beneath her shoes, "I'm…Riaru…you…BAKA!"

Another blink came from Bao before he realized he was not wearing his glasses. His vision was…perfect! No blurred shapes and no groping around. His eyes were 20/20, nay, better than that. It was then he realized that he held a bow in one hand and had a quiver of arrows slung around his shoulder. He shook his head and brushed away his new, pale blonde hair from his eyes. Bao couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible. He looked up, searching, and found his faithful falcon circling low over them, as if it were inspecting each person. There was a bobbing pink blob in the distance…

"Naw, I can't hit that…." Bao whispered to himself. Though he said this, he took and arrow from the quiver and drew back his bowstring, aiming carefully. "I can't hit that…"

The arrow flew straight and true, and with a _plop!_ the mysterious pink blob exploded into tiny pink pieces, various items spilling forth from the creature's guts.

Disbelievingly, he stared down at his own hands, then at Steph, "Did I just…?"

The priestess only smiled at the hunter and nodded.

"You did…_Kiteru_…" she whispered gently.

"Tim's got BALLS!" Robert exclaimed enthusiastically, breaking the magical moment. It wasn't just Steph and Bao; it was all of them. They began where they had left off the game (for those who played, anyway)…They were who they had created.

Tim's hair was short and blue, but more interesting was his outfit. It was big, baggy, white and open, but he had no qualms about it. After all, his in-game chest was pretty well-built. As for Robert's sudden exclamation, it was true, vulgar as it happened to be. There were little spheres of blue energy floating around him lazily, and just as the group was about to ask where the balls came from, Tim just shook his head, not knowing how he got them himself.

"They were just…there," He gave a quick glance to the spheres, "I didn't summon them, but I'm supposed to. This is sooooo….weird."

Stretching out his right arm, he reached out experimentally to prod at one of the energy spheres, then recoiled quickly as a shock went through him.

"OW! That hurt! Stupid spheres, painful AND weird…" Tim mumbled, folding his arms over his chest and keeping them away from the spheres.

"You think THOSE are weird!?" an angry voice yelled from behind some bushes and trees.

"Caroline?" They all asked simultaneously.

"What're you doing over there?" Steph asked, approaching the direction of the voice. "Come on out, I want to see what class you turned out to be!"

"NO! I REFUSE TO COME OUT HERE IN THIS OUTFIT!" Caroline yelled, but she mumbled beneath her breath, "As cute as this outfit is…"

"Come on, Caroline!" Steph pleaded again.

"Yeah, Caroline, it can't be that bad! It'll probably even look good!" Bao tried, hoping that his cheery optimism would help cajole the embarrassed girl out from behind the bushes.

"FINE," Caroline said angrily, poking her head out to glare at Robert, "BUT IF HE EVEN TOUCHES ME, HE'S DEAD!"

Everyone slowly turned to Robert, as if to give him a warning.

"…What?!"

With a quiet sigh, she daintily stepped out from behind the greenery and shocked the entire group. She looked absolutely stunning! Caroline had long, black flowing hair and mysterious cerulean eyes; there was a power that seemed to emit from all around her. Good as she looked, they suddenly understood why she had, at first, refused to come out. Her outfit was nothing but a few sheets of cloth! Her top was merely a brassiere type top with a small coat-like covering that came down to her shoulders. The "shirt" was crimson and had elegant swirls and curves embroidered in gold. Caroline's midsection was bare and her skirt didn't cover much up either. It was simply a long flap of red cloth in the front, and a wider, thicker piece of cloth in the back. Knee-high boots in a crimson color completed the outfit and matched her top. Skimpy, but elegant, it of course called the attention of the males in the group.

"Whoa…" The boys whispered in awe.

"She's a mage!" Steph exclaimed, pointing frantically, "She's going to own us all!"

Tracy blinked, "What the hell?!"

"Hey, before you 'what the hell' MY outfit, you should check out yours!" Caroline shot back, with a bit of a stifled giggle.

Tracy blinked and looked down at herself, then glared at Robert.

"…WHAT?!" Robert cried out in exasperation, "I'm not going to rape them!"

"…Uh…huh," Tracy and Caroline said simultaneously.

Robert just shook his head and plopped down in the shade of a tall tree, grumbling, "You all suck."

"Uhh, what is a mage?" Roger asked, scratching his head.

Bao decided to field this question with as much detail and explanation as possible, "A magic user."

"…Oh. So what's Tracy?"

Steph answered before Bao could, "A thief. She dodges and stabs things with knives!"

"Knives, huh…?" Tracy had a sadistic grin as she eyed Robert.

The spitfire of a girl now had on an outfit no one would (realistically) expect her to wear. With her short, dark red hair, the clothing looked adorable on her. Like Caroline, her top merely consisted of a brassiere-like shirt, but in an ivory color rather than red. However, Tracy had the benefit of a long, light brown leather jacket. Lucky for her, she also had a pair of matching Capri pants. It was something closer to "normal" for the group, but it still carried an air of something completely different and continued to hold them in amazement.

"Oi, I have clothes that look like Tracy's, does that mean I'm a thief too?" Jon called out from underneath the shady tree.

"Yeah," the priestess confirmed his conclusion, "The male and female uniforms for each class resemble each other (usually) so it's easy to tell who's what class."

"So I'm a…" Roger trailed off as he stared quizzically down at his armor and sheathed sword.

"Swordsman. You can be a one handed, two handed, or even a spear swordsman. Or, if you like, you can be a tri-mastery knight!" Steph explained to Roger, "It'll be hard reaching higher levels, but it's well worth it, especially in WoE…"

Tracy, Roger, Jon and Caroline stared at each other, then at Steph, "WoE?"

"As in, 'oh, woe is me'?" Caroline inquired.

"Or WoE as in, 'WHOA!'" Jon questioned as he ran fingers through his shaggy black hair. He wasn't used to having so much hair. "Damn this hair…"

Tim shook his head, "No, no, NO! WoE stands for War of Emperium, DUH!"

"Shut up, Tim!" Tracy shouted.

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

And on and on it went before Stephanie cleared her throat and continued with the Newbie Training Class for the others.

"The War of Emperium is a siege event. Guilds that are formed can take castles by destroying a crystal that is known as an 'Emperium'. Sieges last two hours twice a week, and it can be very hassling," Steph sighed, "Sometimes it isn't any fun at all."

"If Tracy and I are thieves, and Caroline's a mage, then what are you? What's Robert, Bao, and Roger?" Jon asked, scratching his head yet again. The hair was really beginning to irritate him a little.

"Hunter!" Bao exclaimed cheerily, playing with his falcon.

"Priestess," Steph mumbled, distracted by the towering walls.

"Uh…I don't know what I am," Roger responded scratching his head. A moment later he remembered, "Oh! A swordsman."

Robert leapt up and attempted a cool pose as he explained himself, "I am an assassin! I use my dual katars to stalk the night and KILL people!"

He made mock slashing actions at Tracy's neck as he laughed maniacally. With the scraps of cloth wrapped around him and his (newly) long, blond hair, he looked the very part of a night stalker. However…

"Somehow, I don't think he wants to stalk people to kill them," Caroline commented, glancing at the red-haired thief.

"I'm thinking he wants to stalk people to have his way with them," she responded, nudging at the new mage.

They glanced at each other, their eyes widened and let out a cry.

"EWWWW!!"

While the rest of the group were arguing, laughing and just chatting in general, the priestess of the group looked quite distracted. They were quite a whiles away from the city gates, but it was easily seen that people were pouring in and out of the stony gates; after all, Prontera was the capital city in the world of Rune-Midgard. There, everything can be found, for the merchant shopping district was impeccable! Everything from common monster parts to rare equipment could be found amongst the vending merchants, but it was not this that distracted her. A sudden thought had entered Stephanie's mind, and the ramifications worried her.

"Hey guys," she spoke softly, her tone matching her job class, "If…we're here, are we in a game? Or, is this…real?"

They didn't answer her. The carefree attitude and happy chatter was momentarily replaced by deep thought in search of an answer. If this were a game, then they could do everything and more without worrying about harm coming their way; however, if this were a REAL world in which life and death were permanent things, then…

"It has to be a game," grumbled Bao, the qualm clearly showing upon his face. "But there isn't any way for us to find out, is there?"

"Ungggh…" Tim moaned.

"Oh come on guys, this has to be a game! You're acting like other worlds actually exist!" Robert yelled, trying to get them off of the disturbing subject.

"And _you're_ acting like we weren't just transported somewhere else from school!" Caroline hissed, irritation mounting in her voice. "This is a _serious_ situation!"

"Oi…" Jon stood between the assassin and the mage as they were about to go at it, "Break it up you two, we don't have time for this! Maybe we should go to the city and find out?"

Roger agreed as he clapped his hand over Jon's shoulder, "Yeah! Besides, I want to see what it looks like in there…"

"Yeah, it looks sooo….big!" Tracy gasped in awe as the walls grew larger and larger. The castle of King Tristan III rose up in the distance as they walked closer and closer to the city of Prontera.

As they approached the gates, the guards greeted them, tilting their heads in the newcomers' direction.

"Moving NPCs…?" Bao just stared at the quizzically for a moment, then hurried on, but even he couldn't expect how breathtaking the view was.

"WOW!" they gasped, staring at all the people, all the blacksmiths, merchants and alchemists vending their wares, all the different people and classes mingling together to form a raucous air about the city. However, it wasn't anything violent; it was merely loud, but there was a feeling of community, even in such a large city…


	3. Old Friends, New World

Well, welcome to chapter three of "Blurring the Lines". Things are getting interesting, and I'm actually starting to think a little more of what's going to happen. Just so you know, almost everyone that appears is actually modeled after people I know, met, or played with. Can you guess who I am? ; Anywho, read and enjoy

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Chapter 3: Old Friends, New World 

The newcomers' walked along, their eyes distracted by everything in the city. The first-classers, the new mage and thieves, and also a new swordsman, stared in awe at everything they saw. The second classers, who consisted of a tall hunter, a quiet priestess, a curious monk and an excitable assassin saw Prontera as they expected it to be, but at the same time, it wasn't at all like what they had imagined.

The sky was a pure, unadulterated blue, unlike that could ever be seen in populated California and it enthralled them, especially since they had just come from a dismal storm. There were fluffy clouds that resembled tufts of vanilla ice cream, and everywhere there were people. Some moving, some inactive, some with shops, and surprisingly enough, some with little boxes of their chats that displayed such messages. That implied, however…

"So it is just a game!" Tim exclaimed, then quickly turned to Robert and simply smiled. It was a little innocent, a little mischievous, and just a little bit evil. The assassin backed up a few steps and glared back at the blue-haired monk. "…Good."

Bao just shook his head, "Then I wonder, I guess we can find our guild then, right!?"

Just as Steph was about to answer, from the dull roar of the crowd, a voice cried out, "Hey! Bao! Tim! Steph! Hey!!"

Hearing their companions' names called, Robert and the first classers turned in the direction of the voice, only to see a white haired hunter running towards him. He stopped for a moment as he bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily. When he caught his breath, he straightened up and smiled brightly at them.

"Guys, it's Harrison!"

Their mouths dropped in shock; Harrison wasn't with them at the time of the teleportation, so how could he be there now!? With his sparkling grey eyes, elfish ears, some white glasses on his head and a flower in his mouth, he looked absolutely charming, though he and Bao shared the same uniform.

"H-h-HARRISON!?" Stephanie exclaimed loudly as she looked over his appearance.

"Heh, yeah. It took me awhile to figure out how to get to my inventory," Harrison said, smiling as he scratched his head. "I see _you_ haven't figured out how to do it yet."

Bao was just speechless. It didn't occur to him that he must look very different until he set his eyes upon Harrison. They really weren't in their world anymore, and it definitely wasn't a dream, but the white-haired hunter said…

"Inventory?" Bao asked, blinking at the white-haired hunter, "If we can get into inventory, then it's just a game after all?"

Harrison nodded at Bao, then looked at the entire group, "We can die and be resurrected freely, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

He pointed at his arm where there was a deep gash, and he just grinned at the emerald haired priestess, "Heal please!"

Stephanie protested against his request and backed up into her boyfriend, "N-No! I don't know how to do it! We just got here!"

"Just focus," was all that he said.

Staring at her own small hands, then at the wound in his arm, she could not help but feel obligated to. It's not as if she could just leave him in that condition, in some strange, strange world. That would be cruel and heartless! She was anything but that, or at least, she liked to believe so.

Closing her eyes and bringing her hands to her chest, Stephanie concentrated on healing Harrison. To be honest, she had no idea what she was supposed to do, but she just felt an urge to try, even if she couldn't. Then suddenly, she felt a warmth spread throughout her body, from her toes and concentrating in her chest, where her heart lie beating. Before Stephanie knew it, a light formed at her hands and she uttered one word:

"Heal !!"

A sparkling green light surrounded Harrison, and the wound instantly healed up. He stared from his arm, to the priestess and smiled at her. Even he had not expected her to do that, especially when he couldn't get a grip on his own hunter skills. He flexed his arm, testing it. It was healed perfectly!

"I…did it…?" The priestess whispered, staring down at her hands again.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Caroline asked, coming up next to Steph.

Harrison stared at the first classers quizzically, not aware of who they were, "Who are they?"

"Oh! That's Tracy, Jon Wu, Roger, Caroline and Robert," Tim answered, pointing accordingly, but he noticed that just as he said the name Robert, Harrison made a face, obviously showing his discontent.

"HEY! I saw that!" Robert yelled indignantly, shoving his way to the front of the group so that he could be face to face with the elfish hunter. "Why are you ALWAYS such an ASS to me?!"

Jon shook his head and took a seat on a bench, "Oh man…"

Staring down at the ground, a rock suddenly came to his attention. Not aware that he was indeed performing a thief's skill, he picked up the rock and idly tossed it towards the group. He blinked a bit when he actually heard it hit someone.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Roger yelled at the thief, rubbing his arm where the pebble had struck.

"I dunno. I just felt like doing it," the brown haired thief mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "But I feel kind of weird…"

"It's because it's a skill!" Tim exclaimed randomly, "He used a skill just like Steph did! Hmmm…I wonder…"

Again, the blue haired monk turned his mischievous eyes onto the blonde assassin; it was all too tempting! He could just summon spheres, go into Fury mode and then, _BAM!_ Bye bye, Robert… Tim wouldn't do that…just yet. Even at that, Robert wasn't even paying attention to him! Instead, he was too busy trying to start an argument with the rather unresponsive Harrison.

"What the HELL is your problem!?" Robert continued, his tirade seemingly never ending, "I haven't done ANYTHING to you! I don't even—"

Harrison cut him off swiftly by pulling out his bow, pulling back an arrow and aiming its sharp tip at Robert's face.

"Just…shut up," Harrison growled, his eyes narrowed on the spot between the assassin's eyes. "If you say another word, I'll let this arrow fly straight between your eyeballs."

The threat seemed to make all time stop; they were simply waiting for Robert's next action and the possible coming of doomsday upon his poor soul. Grumbling to himself about the unfairness of the world, Robert backed down, slowly returning to the back of the group. Harrison only smirked and put away his weapons, a twinkle in his grey eyes. He knew he had won, but Robert wasn't exactly happy about that…

Tracy stared at the assassin for a moment, then, she turned her head and spat out, "You weakling! Keh!"

"Whaa--!" Robert was about to start ranting again, until Caroline decided to intervene in the situation.

"Robert!" She scolded, pointing a finger at him, "If you would stop being such a CHILD maybe people would stop treating you like one!"

"ARGGHHH!" He yelled out and leapt for Caroline, tackling her down to the ground. "Why WON'T ANYONE RESPECT ME!?!?!"

Tim took a step forward, his spheres flaring suddenly in a burst of bright blue. He yelled at the assassin, "GET OFF OF HER!"

Off to the side, Harrison mumbled to himself, "Cause you're a retard."

However, while everyone else was quite alarmed by this sudden burst of violence, but the first to react to it was the red haired thief, Tracy. She lunged at him and knocked him off of Caroline, putting him into a chokehold as she slowly straightened herself out. On her face was a mask of fury; Robert had taken it too far, even if it was some freaky game world they had dropped into.

"Get a hold of yourself, you bastard!" Tracy snarled into his ear, "I get picked on too! You don't see me losing my cool!"

The assassin was too enraged to think clearly and promptly elbowed the girl in the stomach. Tracy fell back onto the ground and he stood menacingly over her; strapped to his forearms were two glinting objects: his beloved katars. Robert raised one into the air and prepared to strike, but a sudden cry distracted him.

"Fire Bolt !!"

Then suddenly, his world was on fire, and quite literally at that. From the heavens fire struck him, once, twice, four times in all. As an assassin, he had no defenses against magic; no matter how fast he could dodge attacks, there was no way of escaping the wrath of one of the most powerful classes: the mage.

"Don't…you…DARE touch her like that!" Caroline screamed, a fiery glow still surrounding her body as she panted heavily, "If you do that AGAIN, I'll KILL YOU!"

"And so will I!" Tim shouted angrily, coming up to stand next to Caroline and support her. "And don't you even THINK you can live!"

"What!? I'M SO SURE!" Though his body was in pain, Robert still stood and as he was going to attack the furious mage once again, he knocked one green haired priestess onto the ground.

"Oi!" Jon stood in front of Caroline as Bao helped Stephanie up, "That's no way to treat a lady!"

Harrison sighed and shook his head, "You guys are attracting too much attention."

Lo and behold, the white haired hunter was correct. All around them, people were watching their explosive argument unfold. No one did anything, but many people of Prontera, both the vending merchant classes and wandering people, observed them. They, by far, had been the most rowdy of the crowds, but more curious was their ability to use skills to actually harm people in town, an act forbidden and locked away by the Game Masters.

People started whispering to each other, or, at least, that's how it appeared to look to the comrades that suddenly found themselves immersed in a digital world. To those not sucked into Rune-Midgard's digital landscape, they were merely chatting as the normally did, both in public speak and also private messages to one another and despite the fact that most everyone else were merely "normal players", the stares still disturbed them greatly.

"Guys, c'mon, let's get out of here…" Steph whispered to them, backing up a few steps and beginning to walk away.

"We're…not…done yet!" Robert fell to his knees, blood coming from numerous places and burns all over his skin. It was clear that he couldn't do any harm that way, but it was even more obvious that he could barely walk.

"Steph," Tim stated grimly, "Don't heal him."

Casting his pale blue eyes on Robert, Bao said quietly, "I don't think it's a good idea not to."

The monk pointed at Robert's trembling form, "Did you SEE what he tried to do!?"

"I agree with Bao," Stephanie whispered, though in her eyes smoldered quiet anger. She held out her hands towards Robert and uttered the skill, healing him fully.

Just as he jumped to his feet, the priestess moved forward, an indescribable rage lurking beneath dark sapphire eyes. She glared at him with all the fury of Heaven, with her lips closed tight and her hands fisted at her side. And then, she spoke, slowly and carefully.

"Mark my words, Robert, should you try to hurt someone like that again, I _will_ find a way to punish you…" Her soft voice trailed off as she turned around and walked away, the crowds of Prontera hushed as the priestess walked away, heading towards the western gate, searching for her guild, her home, for Final Retribution.

"Steph…" Bao whispered, staring after his love. He glanced back at his friends, then at the retreating back of Stephanie, and back again, "Guys, I…"

"Yeah, go after her," sighed Caroline, leaning on Tim heavily, "I'll be..alright. I'm just a bit surprised."

The blonde hunter nodded his thanks and ran off, swift as the wind, after his priestess love. For some reason, he could just instinctively feel where she was, even if she were on the other side of the world. They were connected, eternally, and for some reason, by instinct, he glanced at his left hand and sparkling on his ring finger was a ring, and, by appearances, it was a wedding ring. Bao couldn't help but smile at the thought…

"We're married…"

Meanwhile, the others stood segregated from Robert; Roger, Jon, Tracy, Caroline and Tim stood glaring at the defeated assassin, incensed with his actions. Unlike the pacifist priestess, the rest of their "party" wished to punish him most painfully. He attacked Caroline and Tracy without even knowing if they would simply reappear in the game world, alive and well. It was almost as if he were simply unleashing all of his fantasy and his anger into this world, but he couldn't be blamed for it. Truly an assassin, he lurked the world, alone and lonely.

"You're lucky Harrison stopped us," Tim mumbled, not even looking Robert in the eye.

"You're lucky _I_ didn't kill you," grumbled Harrison, also looking away to the shops surrounding them.

Jon, who had been quiet until then, spoke, and with good reason, "Uh, so, what now?"

Being the highest level amongst their group, it was then decided he would be the Prontera Tour Master, otherwise known as the PTM. They wandered through the city, from the busy, crowded downtown to the peaceful quiet church in the north of Prontera. Tim was an enthusiastic Tour Master and everyone shared his excitement in showing off this new world. Well, all except the rather miserable Robert who just hung about behind the group of friends. Eventually, they wandered towards where Steph and Bao had run off to, inherently drawn to the west gate of Prontera.

When they arrived at the west gate, they found a very perturbed, emerald haired priestess, seated next to an all-too-concerned blond hunter. Being the ever-caring monk he was, Tim also took a seat next to Stephanie, patting her upon her head. He smiled at her as she looked up at him, and thankfully, she was feeling much better.

"Feel better, Steph-u," Tim said simply, coaxing a smile out of the quiet priestess.

"…Hai!" She chirped hugging Tim, then her hunter husband, then everyone else in, _including_ Robert, much to their surprise.

"Uh…" Roger scratched his head again, and just as he was about to say something regarding this sudden mood swing, but was stopped by a shouting voice.

"Little sis!"

Tracy and Caroline looked to each other for understanding, for both the massive hug-fest and the person crying out little sis. Alas, they understood neither and decided to sit back and watch the events unfolding before them.

"I know that voice…" Stephanie whispered, still embracing thief-mode Jon (who happened to be quite flustered). "But it can't be…"

"Dorky sis, what're you doing?"

"…ONII-CHAN!" she cried, leaping out of Jon's arms and into the arms of a mysterious, pink haired man, not much older looking than themselves. Then again, age _was_ distorted in this enigmatic game world.

"…PAUL!" Both Bao and Tim exclaimed, leaping up to their feet. "NO WAY!"

The wizard just smirked and simply said, "Duh."

He walked up to his "sister" and patted her on the head, smiling as he gazed upon her. Stephanie and Paul had never known each other outside of Rune-Midgard, but they had grown very close in the years they had played together. They were family to each other, siblings to the very end, no matter what happened. Even if they fought, they cried for each other, hurt for each other, they truly loved each other…

"Dorky sis, you need to learn how to use inventory…" Paul mumbled, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Just think about what you want to wear. Hmm, I know! Wear your Lazy Smokie hat!"

"But…Okay…" Steph closed her eyes, and in her minds eye she could see the familiar window options, the equipment, the skills. It was all a matter of focus of the mind…

Moments later, a little raccoon like doll appeared in her hands, much to the surprise of everyone else, especially to the priestess herself. Smiling happily at her brother, Paul, she placed it on her head and laughed, feeling much better. Paul smiled at her as well, and somehow the mood felt much lighter, quite the opposite of the tension that was felt earlier.

"I've been waiting for you forever, baka!" Paul scolded, pointing a finger at the priestess, "I was wondering when you and the others would get here!"

"Wait, what about the rest of Final Retribution?" Bao inquired, deciding to get up and stretch his legs.

Again, the poor first classers were lost in their game babble; this world was new to them and they had never before laid their eyes on it. None the less, they attempted the "focus" required to accessing inventory, and much to their delight, it wasn't as hard as the poor priestess made it appear to be! They saw in their minds eye their stats, equipment, and skills; unfortunately, there wasn't anything to be worn! There were only basic equipments, the bare bones for each of their classes.

Just as they were sitting around, discussing how they got there, there was a sudden squeal of excitement. A red blur flew by them and the next thing they knew, Bao was lying on the floor, tackled by a red haired rogue with jingling golden bells upon her head.

"Ara…?" The hunter was completely baffled and unaware of what just happened. All that he knew was that his head was spinning and a warmth was on him.

"…KRISSY!?" Tim and Steph exclaimed in unison.

"Oh! That one girl in San Diego, right?!" Caroline chirped, knowing everything yet knowing nothing at all.

"Yep, that would be her," a voice agreed from behind them. It was a voice that was vaguely familiar. One that had yelled at Tim, Bao and Steph many a times during the War of Emperium. It was…

"KEVIN!!!" Bao and Tim yelled. This day was starting to become too much.

"…KIKI!" Glancing over at Krissy still patting her hunter husband, she grinned and hugged the level 99 priest. Poor Kevin was just confused with all the commotion, while the others just shook their heads.

Tracy looked away from them a moment, her intuition whispering to her. Time was passing so quickly in this world, with so much excitement and novelty, but this could not possibly be the only reason they were brought there. There had to be something else. After all, there was a reason for everything…

And suddenly, somewhere, in the dark shadows a figure smiled.

"…I've got a bad feeling about this," Tracy whispered.


End file.
